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Agreement concerning the Exchange of Money Orders between Canada and Japan [1936] CATSer 5 (1 March 1936)

E103195 - CTS 1936 No. 6

(Translation)

AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE EXCHANGE OF MONEY ORDERS BETWEEN CANADA AND JAPAN

The Post Office Department of Canada and the Department of Communications of Japan, desiring to improve the Money Order service between the two countries, have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1

Object of the Agreement

The regular exchange of Money Orders is established between Canada and Japan.

ARTICLE 2

Wording of Amount. Rate of Conversion

The amount of each Order is expressed in the currency of the country of destination.

The Administration of each of the contracting countries shall fix the rate of conversion applicable to Money Orders issued in its own country.

ARTICLE 3

Maximum Amount

The maximum amount upon the issue of a Money Order shall be fixed by agreement between the Administrations of the two countries.

ARTICLE 4

Charges

The Administration of each of the contracting countries may fix the various charges it levies on Money Orders.

ARTICLE 5

Exchange Offices

The exchange of Money Orders shall be effected exclusively through the medium of such exchange offices as shall be designated by the respective Administrations of the contracting countries.

ARTICLE 6

Advice of Issue

Each of the contracting countries shall advise the other, by every mail for same, of the particulars of Money Orders issued, by means of lists or of lists accompanied by the relative documents.

ARTICLE 7

Payment

Each of the contracting countries shall fix the domestic rates on Money Orders for the Money Orders notified in accordance with the provisions of the preceding article, and they shall be payable to the beneficiaries under the terms of its domestic regulations until the expiration of the twelfth month which follows that in which they are issued.

ARTICLE 8

Advice of Payment

The remitter of a Money Order may request an advice of payment at the time of remittance, or within two years following the month in which the money was deposited at the despatching office of origin.

ARTICLE 9

Refund

The refund of a Money Order shall not be effected until the Administration of the country of destination has authorized same.

ARTICLE 10

Lapsed Money Orders

Money Orders refused, as well as those whose payees are unknown or have moved without leaving an address, are immediately returned, for refund to the senders, to the Administration of the country of origin, by the Administration of the country of destination. The same obtains in relation to Money Orders not claimed within the period of delay prescribed by Article 7.

ARTICLE 11

Claims

The claim respecting the payment of a Money Order to a non-authorized person is allowed only within a period of two years following the month in which the remittance was made.

ARTICLE 12

Responsibility

Amounts paid for Money Orders are, within the period prescribed by the legislation of the country of origin, guaranteed to the remitters until the Orders are duly paid.

Responsibility defined in the preceding paragraph rests with the Administration of the country of origin, except where the Administration of the country of destination is unable to prove that payment had been made in accordance with the regulations.

When a claim is not made within the period prescribed in the preceding article, the Administrations are no longer responsible for payment to a non-authorized person.

The Administrations are freed of all responsibility with respect to the Money Order service, when they are unable to render account for payment, by reason of the destruction of the service records, as the result of uncontrollable circumstances.

ARTICLE 13

Apportionment of Charges

The Administration of each of the contracting countries shall, in respect to commissions collected on Money Orders, credit the other with a sum equivalent to four per thousand of Money Orders paid in the country of destination.

ARTICLE 14

Accounting

The country of origin shall forward to the country of destination, as soon as possible after the despatch of each list stipulated in Article 6, a draft covering the amount of the Money Orders included in the list. The amount of the last list forwarded during the month shall be included in the draft accompanying the monthly statement provided by the regulations.

ARTICLE 15

Temporary Suspension of Service

Should the Administration of one of the contracting countries suspend the exchange of Money Orders temporarily, either entirely or partially, by reason of extraordinary circumstances, it shall immediately give notice of such suspension, by telegram if necessary, to the other Administration.

ARTICLE 16

Detailed Regulations

The Administrations of the contracting countries may agree to draw up detailed regulations for the execution of the present agreement.

ARTICLE 17

Abrogation of Agreements Prior to the Present One

The present agreement abrogates and supersedes the agreement signed at Ottawa on the 27th of June 1889, and at Tokio on the 16th day of the 5th month of the 22nd year of Meiji, and the supplementary agreement signed at Ottawa, on October 21, 1904, and at Tokio on the 19th day of the 9th month of the 37th year of the Meiji.

ARTICLE 18

Entry into Force of Agreement

The present agreement shall come into force from the day to be agreed upon by the Administrations of the two countries and shall remain in force until the expiration of six months after due notification given by one of the contracting countries of its intention to abrogate same.

DONE in duplicate and signed at Ottawa, the 20th day of December, 1935, and at Tokio, the 24th day of the 8th month of the 10th year of Showa.

John Campbell Elliott

The Postmaster General of Canada

Takejiro Tokonami

The Minister of Communications of Japan

(Translation)

DETAILED REGULATIONS OF THE AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE EXCHANGE OF MONEY ORDERS BETWEEN CANADA AND JAPAN

The undersigned by virtue of Article 16 of the Agreement concerning the exchange of Money Orders between Canada and Japan signed at Ottawa on the 20th day of December, 1935, and at Tokio on the 24th day of the 8th month in the 10th year of Showa, have adopted the following measures:

ARTICLE 1

Exchange Office

The Post Office at Vancouver is designated as the exchange office for Canada and the General Directorate of Money Order and Savings Bank Services at Tokio as the exchange office for Japan.

ARTICLE 2

Maximum Amount

The maximum amount of a Money Order shall be one hundred dollars in Canadian currency or the equivalent thereof in Japanese currency.

ARTICLE 3

Advice of Issue

1. Advice of the issue of Money Orders by Canada shall be effected by means of lists similar to the annexed specimen B, accompanied by vouchers of the said Money Orders, and, those issued by Japan shall be notified by means of lists similar to the annexed specimen A.

These lists shall bear serial numbers and the Money Orders inscribed thereon shall bear international numbers, beginning with No.1 each year.

2. The inscriptions on the lists or on the vouchers shall be written in Arabic numerals and in Roman characters.

The name and surname of the remitter and of the payee, or the name of the remitter or payee firm or company, as well as the address of the payee, shall be clearly and fully indicated.

3. The Money Order vouchers which are to be annexed to the Canadian lists must contain the following information:

The international number of the Money Order, the name of the issuing office, the number of the issue, the amount of the Money Order in the currency of the two countries, the name and address of the payee and the name of the remitter.

Should the remitter in Canada be familiar with the Japanese or Chinese characters he may enter, on an additional form, the name and address of the payee in Japanese or Chinese characters. This additional form shall be transmitted with the form prepared in accordance with the stipulations of paragraph 2.

4. When the remitter requests an advice of payment at the time of issue, in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of the Agreement, such Money Orders shall be indicated on the list by the notation A.P. entered in the corresponding column.

5. The lists are to be forwarded only when there are Money Orders to be advised.

6. Should the lists or vouchers not reach the exchange office of destination, the despatching exchange office shall immediately forward, should the occasion arise, duly certified duplicates of the said lists or vouchers.

ARTICLE 4

Payment Deferred

Whenever a list or voucher contains errors that cannot be corrected at the exchange office of destination and that office requests an explanation from the despatching exchange office it may defer payment of the said Money Orders until the desired information has reached it.

ARTICLE 5

Advice of Payment

When advice of payment is requested the country of origin shall transmit to the country where payment of the Money Order is to be effected a form similar or analogous to the annexed specimen C, containing all details of the corresponding Money Order. As regards the request made at the date of issue of the said Money Order, the form in question shall be annexed to the list on which the Money Order is entered.

The advice of payment, containing all details of payment, shall be transmitted directly to the remitter by the country where the payment was effected.

ARTICLE 6

Correction of Errors

Correction of errors in the name of the remitter or in the name and address of the payee must be made by request of each Postal Administration to the other.

ARTICLE 7

Return of Money Orders

The Administration of destination shall, by means of itemized statements similar to the annexed specimen D, return by each mail, to the country of origin, the Money Orders to be repaid to the remitters, under the provisions of Articles 9 and 10 of the Agreement. The amount of these Money Orders shall be given in the currency of the country of destination.

ARTICLE 8

Claims

All communications in connection with claims concerning Money Orders shall be effected through the two Postal Administrations.

ARTICLE 9

Accounts

Each Administration shall prepare, in duplicate, as soon as possible at the end of each month, the monthly account of Money Orders on a form similar to the annexed specimen E, and shall forward it to the Administration of destination together with a bill of exchange payable on sight or a cheque, for the amount due, drawn in favour of the country of destination.

As soon as the Administration of destination has received the account and other documents mentioned in the preceding paragraph, it shall remit copy of same together with its approval of the account and the acknowledgment of receipt of payment of its claim.

Any error or omission noted in the account shall be adjusted in the next account rendered.

ARTICLE 10

Communications and Notices

Each Administration must, at least one month before the Agreement goes into effect, communicate to or notify the other with respect to the following and thereafter advise it of any modification in relation to:

(a) the list of offices authorized to issue or pay Money Orders or the notice that all its offices participate in said service.

(b) the fee levied on Money Orders.

(c) the period of validity after which according to the regulations of the country, unclaimed Money Orders revert to the State.

Each Administration must notify the other of the conversion rates it has established and of any subsequent amendments thereto.

ARTICLE 11

Entry into Force of the Detailed Regulations

The present detailed regulations shall come into force on the same date as the Agreement concerning the exchange of Money Orders.

The present detailed regulations shall have the same duration as this Agreement, unless they are renewed by common accord of the Administrations of the contracting countries.

DONE in duplicate and signed at Ottawa, on the 20th day of December, 1935, and at Tokio on the 24th day of the 8th month in the 10th year of Showa.

John Campbell Elliott

Postmaster General of Canada

Takejiro Tokonami

Minister of Communications of Japan